High School
by LesMisLoony
Summary: Because it strikes me as unlikely that any of these kids would grow up to be normal. Implied mature content. Ten new chapters FTW.
1. Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER- This fic is not for the weak-hearted or those who would take it seriously. I love Peanuts and grew up with them, but upon watching it now I began to wonder how a kid as abused and harassed as our Charlie Brown could have possibly made it to adulthood without showing some emotional scars from the childhood he experienced. The rest of it just sort of fell into place as I thought of a terrible fate for all of the Peanuts gang, with the exception of Shermy. Please don't flame me unless you have a coherent, well-structured sentence voicing a reasonable problem with my writing style, which is meant to imitate the style of the comic strip. 


	2. Charlie Brown

A cloud of dust announced Pig Pen's arrival.

"Have you seen Violet?"

Charlie Brown shook his head. "This morning she told me how wishy-washy I was, for the hundredth time this week."

"Well," Pig Pen said, "you are still a little blah."

"Even after I pierced my nose and died my hair black?"

"Face it, Charlie Brown," Pig Pen said gravely, "that crowd will never accept you. It's better to just be who you are and deal with it. I mean, look at Linus! He still carries that ratty old blanket and sucks his thumb. All the other high school kids make fun of him, but he just does what he wants and doesn't care."

"He wears tight clothes," Charlie Brown added.

"True," said Pig Pen, "that is new."

"And pierced his tongue."

"That too. Oh, Violet! Excuse me, Charlie Brown. We have a date."


	3. Sally I

"Snoopy! AUGH!"

The screams echoed throughout the peaceful little neighborhood. Lucy and Linus hurried toward the cries.

Sally Brown was lying on the sidewalk, clutching at her leg, as crimson blood oozed between her fingers. A jump rope was tangled about her ankles.

"Sally!" Linus gasped. "Good grief, what happened?"

Sally's answer was almost drowned in the sea of tears rolling across her face. "Snoopy—bit—" she managed between sobs. "Something—wrong—"

Kneeling next to Sally, Lucy began to pry her fingers away. "That's a lot of blood. Boy, that Snoopy sure makes me mad! Is he ever gonna get it!"

"It doesn't seem logical that Snoopy would do such a thing," Linus muttered. "Lucy, can you find an adult? I'm going to go see what's wrong with Snoopy."

"Sure, Linus," said his sister. She began to help Sally to her feet.

"Linus!" Sally cried, catching his arm. "Be careful!" He nodded quickly and shook her off, popping his thumb into his mouth.


	4. Snoopy

Snoopy was perched in the top of a small tree, on its thickest limb. He craned his neck in such a way as to imitate a vulture, waiting for fresh meat to venture too close.

"Snoopy?"

He heard the voice of the kid with the blanket, and leaned forward expectantly.

"Snoopy?"

The voice was nearer.

A slight rustle beneath him, and he pounced!

A sharp cracking sound told him that he had made his kill.


	5. Sally II

Sally poked at her bandaged leg. Her mother had made an appointment with the doctor for later. She flopped backward onto her bed.

Linus had gone to avenge her, she reminded herself.

How romantic.


	6. Patty and Marcie I

On his way home from the ballfield, Charlie Brown always passed a low brick wall. Today he put out a hand and felt the rough bricks scrape beneath his palm as he walked. He had had so many meaningful conversations while leaning on this wall, witnessed so many epiphanies... been mocked so many times... teased... imitated. He sighed.

A strange sound suddenly rose from the other side of the wall. Charlie Brown jumped away. "Who's there?" he shouted.

A familiar face emerged above the bricks. "Sorry, Chuck," Patty said huskily, "didn't know anyone was around." She seemed flustered.

Charlie Brown shrugged.

"Excuse me, sir," another voice whispered, "who is it?"

"Marcie?" Charlie Brown ventured.

The other's girl's head appeared next to Patty's. "Oh, hello, sir," she said softly.

"Maybe we'd better go back to your house, Marcie," Patty suggested. "Mine's no good, my parents are home."

Marcie nodded. They hurried away, and again Charlie Brown was alone.

He continued his walk home, kicking his baseball glove ahead of him.


	7. Lucy and Schroeder

"Do you know something, Schroeder?" Lucy said loudly, attempting to make herself heard over his music.

It had been years since Schroeder had moved from his small toy piano with the black keys painted on to the upright in the living room. Lucy still came to listen to—and talk through—his practice times, but now she sat next to him on the bench, pressing an occasional note to get his attention. Schroeder hated it. He even kept what he carefully called the "Lucy Emergency Kit" in the compartment in the bench in case it was ever needed.

"Schroeder! When we get married, who will be your best man?"

No answer.

"I wanted Frieda to be one of my bridesmaids, but her hair doesn't look like it's ever going to grow back from the chemotherapy, and the wig she bought looks like plastic. I refuse to believe that her mother couldn't find enough money to get her a better one, even with her father gone!"

Schroeder rolled his eyes without missing a beat of the sonata.

"When we get married, will you run off with my sister like Frieda's father did?"

Nothing.

"Oh... I don't have a sister. Will you run off with Linus?"

The piano fell silent mid-trill. Schroeder frowned at Lucy. "What do you mean by that?"

"It was a joke," she said simply. She had always wanted Schroeder to stop playing and talk to her, but now that he had she was uncomfortable. "Keep playing."

Schroeder did not. His fingers twitched along the bench. "Why would you say that?"

"You've never even listened to me! Why do you care what I say now? Play the stupid Beethoven!"

Lucy brought a fist down on the lower keys. Leaping to his feet, Schroeder pushed her away. "What did you do?" he screeched, jerking open the piano bench.

The keys remained sunken as though Lucy's hand still rested upon them. "Rats," Lucy breathed. "I broke it."

And then she saw what was in Schroeder's hand.


	8. Sally III

It was time to go to the doctor.

A terrible thought occurred to Sally—what if she had to get a shot? Even in junior high, shots were painful.

She heard her mother leave to start the car, and she sneaked out the back door.

Maybe she would hide forever. After all, it was just a scar on her leg.


	9. Linus and Snoopy

"Snoopy!" Linus called again. He had stopped by the doghouse to grab a leash in case something was really wrong with the dog.

The bushes before him rattled, and he pushed them aside impatiently, the leash dangling from his hand.

Snoopy stood in a small clearing, and Linus could hardly believe what he saw.

Yellow feathers fluttered softly down as the dog froze, his glassy eyes focused on Linus. White foam trickled from the corners of Snoopy's bloodstained mouth.

A broken yellow wing could be seen beneath his front paw.


	10. Charlie Brown II

Charlie Brown was almost home. He passed through the empty garage and noticed a small trail of blood leading from the back stoop and away from the house. He followed it back to its source: Sally's bedroom.

What was going on?

He turned and ran from the house.


	11. Schroeder

Schroeder dropped his gun into the trash bag and dragged it out to his backyard. The load was much heavier than he expected; his arms ached.

He spied his old sandbox, dotted with patches of grass, and hurried back to the house to get his father's shovel. It wasn't very original, but it would have to do.


	12. Violet and Pig Pen

Violet had been crying.

"What's wrong, babe?" Pig Pen asked.

She backed away from him. "Don't come near me," she warned.

"Violet! What is it?"

Her bloodshot eyes locked with his. "Remember prom night?"

Pig Pen could not stop a smile from creeping across his face. "Of course."

"Well," Violet said slowly, "I'm pregnant."


	13. Patty and Marcie II

"Hey, Marcie, are the results back yet?" Patty asked. She had thrown the question over her shoulder as though it did not matter, but both of them understood the gravity of the situation.

Marcie shrugged. "Hold on, sir, let me check the mail."

She found a thick envelope and waved it in front of her face.

"That's it?" asked Patty.

Nodding, Marcie tore into it. Her eyes widened, magnified behind her thick glasses, and she looked up at Patty. "Positive."


	14. Schroeder II

Linus's yells distracted Schroeder from the hole he had created. It was already deep enough, but he had not stopped digging.

Still, he knew that Linus was in trouble. The screams he had heard so many times now contained an edge of panic.

He rolled the heavy trashbag into the hole and, hoping that no one would find it before he had time to replace the dirt, he vaulted off to see what the trouble was, shovel still in hand.


	15. Pig Pen and Violet II

"It's okay," Pig Pen said again. "I promise we'll get through this."

"Easy for you to say! I'm getting rid of it."

"No!" he bellowed. Violet's eyes widened. "No," he said again, "you can't. Listen, I'll help you, okay? We'll do this together."

She took his hands in hers. "Promise?"


	16. Sally IV

Another spasm of pain wracked Sally's body, and she was forced to stop running. She looked around and realized that she was lost.

Sitting down, she inspected the wound in her leg. The skin around it had turned black.

She wrinkled her nose.

At least Linus had gone to avenge her.


	17. Patty and Marcie III

"So," Patty said at last, "what now?"

Marcie shrugged. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "That little red-headed girl told me—"

"So she lied. Don't worry, Marcie. I won't leave you. After all, we're in the same boat now. Aren't we?"

Marcie nodded.

"I'm not mad at you," Patty said. "I'm not."


	18. Charlie Brown III

Charlie Brown saw Pig Pen and Violet ahead, sitting on the low brick wall. He hurried up to them, panting.

"Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Shut up, Charlie Brown," Pig Pen said irritably.

Violet glared at him from tearstained eyes. "Nobody likes you, Charlie Brown. You don't have any friends. Everybody thinks you're wishy-washy and blah. You're weak and insignificant and alone, and you always will be. I don't know why you even try to start conversations with other people. You're no good."

Pig Pen scowled at him, and, struck by their words, Charlie Brown backed away, then broke into a run.


	19. Schroeder III

Schroeder burst into the clearing, his lungs burning from the exertion. Wielding his father's shovel like a club, he looked at the scene before him.

Snoopy had pinned Linus to the ground and was tearing into him, mouth foaming.

Screaming in anguish, Schroeder bashed the dog's skull with the shovel, and everyone was still.


	20. Patty and Marcie VI

"Well," Patty said, "if we're going to die, we might as well enjoy what we have left. You have to tell your parents tonight, Marcie, and I'll tell my dad."

Marcie shrugged. "I guess they'll find out anyway."


	21. Sally V

Sally could not bring her thoughts into a straight line. Her mouth was watering. She wiped a bit of foam away from her bottom lip.


	22. Schroeder and Linus

Schroeder knelt over Linus, cradling the younger boy's head in his lap.

"You came for me," Linus smiled. "I hoped you would. I wanted to see you once more."

"Don't say that!" Schroeder felt his eyes welling up with tears. "Look, you'll be fine, I promise! This is just—just a little blood. It'll be—"

Linus cut him off. "I love you, Schroeder."

"I love you too."

Schroeder wept.


	23. Charlie Brown and SCENE

Charlie Brown hugged himself tightly.

He really was alone. Violet had been telling him the same thing for years, along with Lucy, Schroeder, and even Linus. His dog even earned more respect in the neighborhood than Charlie Brown ever could.

He hurried home and went to the empty kitchen, pulling down one of his mother's biggest knives. He rolled up one sleeve, but the myriad of scars on his arm left no room for new companions. His other arm looked the same.

And then Charlie Brown thought of one place that he had yet to cut, and, before he could talk himself out of it this time, thrust the knife into his chest.


End file.
